Both bats were alive when I handed the situation over to the homeowner (who was present) while I went out to inspect the garage. What happened after that, I am not aware. But when I came back in from the garage, both bats were no longer present and I completed the attic inspection.
That’s all the DYI’er and big box stores are looking for.
In high school I worked at an auto parts store that was next door to a fleabag motel. Every few weeks the owner of the motel would come in. Everyone already knew that he was going to walk in and grab two hose clamps and then directly to the radiator hose that he memorized the part # on. Buying a p-trap kit would have been cheaper, but in his mind, the radiator hose that was in the shape of a p-trap would never need to be replaced again. It also worked as intended.
The meter was on the other side of the wall, so that was really the only place it could have been, although my client and her Realtor both told me they looked everywhere and couldn’t find it.